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WTCC - 2016 Race of Russia - N.Catsburg: "I can fight for the championship now!"

12.06.16
WTCC - 2016 Race of Russia - Post Race Press Conference

Present:
Nicky Catsburg, LADA Sport Rosneft, first position, Main Race, second position, Opening Race
Gabriele Tarquini, LADA Sport Rosneft, second position, Main Race, first position, Opening Race
Norbert Michelisz, Honda Racing Team JAS, third position, Main Race
Yvan Muller, Citroën Total WTCC, third position, Opening Race
James Thompson, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich M’sport, WTCC Trophy, first position, Opening Race

Q:
Following two thrilling races here at the Moscow Raceway we’re celebrating a new winner in the WTCC, and that’s Nicky Catsburg. Congratulations on that achievement on what is the home event for your team LADA and main sponsor Rosneft. How happy are you right now?

NC:
It was pretty amazing. If someone told me before the weekend I was going to finish P1 and P2 in Moscow in front of our home crowd and sponsors, I wouldn’t have believed it. But we found some pace and in the wet we were very fast. The Main Race was a bit more difficult and the track was drying and there was an old Italian guy behind me pushing me a lot – a bit too much for my liking! But it kept me sharp and we were fighting until the last lap. I am very happy with this victory and looking forward to the next one.

Q:
And that old Italian guy is Gabriele Tarquini, winner of the Opening Race for LADA. Talk us through your charge from pretty much nowhere on the grid?

GT:
Honestly I was thinking if it could rain we could fight for the podium in both races and starting 1-2-3 was much more easy in the Main Race. But fortunately for us the rain comes in the last minutes before the grid and I took the chance. I have nothing to lose because I am not playing for the championship. I took a really good start and was able to fight with the guys in front. As soon as I reached the leading position I could manage my pace and the car was really amazing, the car today was uncatchable for everybody on this track.

Q:
Back to Nicky, there must have been a lot of pressure on your because to take up your DHL pole position for the Main Race you had to get through the Opening Race unscathed and then we saw you live on WTCC Premium TV having all these battles for position. Was that not a bit risky?

NC:
It’s a little bit of a risk but I trust the other guys. We have nobody is crazy in this championship and nobody is really pushing each other off. Gabriele is now in my team, which is good, because in the past sometimes he pushed me off!

GT:
No, you pushed me off!

NC:
Of course you take the risk into consideration but the Opening Race I wanted to go for it. I saw Gabriele did it and I didn’t want to stay behind. I had one contact, unfortunately, with my team-mate when I braked a little too late. This is all part of it and in the end we managed to go to victory in the Main Race so perfect.

Q:
Turning to Yvan Muller and your podium in the Opening Race kind of made up for what was a difficult weekend for Citroën. Is that a fair assessment?

YM:
It wasn’t a great weekend for Citroën but first of all I would like to congratulate these [LADA] boys. They did a great weekend and well done to them, they deserve it. We were not as good as them but we could do a good start in the Opening Race and that gave me the opportunity to stay on the podium. But we didn’t have the pace to be further up on the podium this weekend.

Q:
Can you briefly explain why that was?

YM:
Er… no.

Q:
Maybe take a few hours then!

YM:
It’s not because I don’t to tell you it’s because I don’t know. The Opening Race the car was quite good and I was pleased. In the Main Race you saw what happened and I don’t really have any information for that. We will have to de-brief to see what happened and then we will see for the future.

Q:
And there was another podium finisher here at the Moscow Raceway and that was Norbert Michelisz from Honda Racing Team JAS. After a difficult weekend, particularly with the wet track conditions, does that represent a good result for you?

NM:
First I want to congratulate all the LADA team. We see that they are really improving their car and they deserve it much more than anyone else to get this dream result. For us it was difficult, especially with all the water on the track. We realised we didn’t have the grip and the pace to be really able to fight against them. But in both races starting from fifth and sixth I realised there was a possibility to score points and I knew that my car is performing well. I knew that after a good standing start, especially in the Main Race, I realised I had grip from the front and I was able to attack Hugo [Valente] and I was able to settle for third. I tried to attack a bit Gabriele but I had to realise they are much faster than me. So I just wanted to cruise and not make too many mistakes and then just score this podium finish. Even though it happened we still have to find a solution to improve our performance in wet conditions. A podium is always nice and we learned some important things for the future.

Q:
Turning to James Thompson, not winning once but twice in the WTCC Trophy during an excellent weekend for you, particularly after that fantastic qualifying effort with P4 yesterday. Tell us about those two races today please?

JT:
Everybody is very happy for LADA after all the effort they put in over the years. It’s great to see them win in such dominant fashion but it’s nice for Nick to have won his first race as well so big congratulations to them and, personally for me, it’s nice to see them do well so a heartfelt well done. From the outside when you see their pace in the race it shows you that we did a very good job in qualifying. We’re really pleased with that and in the race today we were just trying to keep the car out of trouble. The Opening Race was a little bit difficult because I got such a bad start and had to let everybody and work my way through the pack. There was no point trying to do anything stupid, especially with the Main Race coming up. But to cut a long story short we did the best job we could but these guys were significantly quicker and we were made to really fight. Once the race settled down sixth place was a really good finish for us.

Q:
And staying with you James there’s word that you’ll be back in the WTCC in Vila Real in two weeks. What can you say about that?

JT:
It’s been race by race and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. We’ve got nothing to lose, it’s a happy team and it’s great fun in that sort of environment, coming along and enjoying the race weekends. If we get results then we’re all happy and can have a good drink afterwards. That’s the way it should be and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I believe we’re going across to Vila Real where I believe there’s some very good red wine and hopefully another very good result.

Q:
Turning back to Gabriele, a lot has been said about the input you’ve made to this team, particularly regarding car set-up. Can you briefly cover over the advice you gave LADA this weekend to deal with the difficult conditions?

GT:
To be honest the key of the weekend was Free Practice 2 because in Free Practice 0 and 1 we were quite happy with the dry set-up and the car was almost competitive, probably a bit better than usual. But in Free Practice 2 we tried something new for the wet. Fortunately, I tested many times this winter in Magny-Cours where the weather was more or less like this, the track is very slippery and we had some idea with the car and team to improve performance in the wet. For the first time we work on this special set-up for the wet and to be honest the result was impressive. My team-mate was far away, I was the fastest car on the track and also I hide a little bit of the performance of the car because the car was very good, I was on very old tyres and everybody was very happy. We focused on developing these small things. It’s true we share all these details and information, which is unfortunate for me but fortunate for the team. Altogether this was the key of the qualifying, we had 1-2-3 and also this fantastic result today. To be honest we must thank a lot the work all the LADA Sport Rosneft team because they work very hard over the winter in very difficult conditions and this is a big thanks to them.

Q:
A final word from Nicky Catsburg. Nicky, you’re now equal second in the WTCC Drivers’ championship, which is pretty impressive in itself…

NC:
Really? I didn’t know that but that’s a nice surprise. It’s great news, I don’t know how we did that. I guess it has something to do with the Hondas losing some points but maybe I can fight for the championship now!

Q:
And what can you achieve during the rest of the year? This weekend was amazing but what about Vila Real and the remaining races thereafter?

NC:
I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year. Obviously this season I’m no longer first time at the track. Last year I was always having to get to know the track. I’m feeling that’s helping me a lot. In Vila Real I have to be a little bit cautious because I spent more time in the wall than on the track last year. Let’s see. I’m really looking forward and I’m hoping that it rains a lot from now until the end of the season!